cover story A week into the waiting, a potential heart was available. “I called all my loud-Italian family who rushed up to my itty bitty hospital room to celebrate life,” she said. “There were tears
because someone else died, but smiles because I was going to live. That is a lot to absorb. Grieving for your donor is an entirely different kind of grief. There are no words to adequately describe the feelings involved.” The heart was not a viable organ. “How do I tell my son who is sitting beside me on my hospital bed holding my hand, how do I tell my mom, my husband, my entire family who is in my hospital room?” she questioned. “I couldn’t. I just stared at the ceiling for hours. The next day. I regrouped and had a long talk with God. After that, I had such a feeling of peace, and I knew that no matter what happened, I was going to be okay.” She observed Christmas in the hospital and New Year’s Eve 2017 with an emphatic resolution – “no matter what, it is going to be a great year.” She was right. A new heart was on its way and she entered surgery at 2 a.m. January 6, 2017. “A successful transplant means you can continue to live and look
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forward,” she explained. “At the same time there is grief. My prayers for my donor continue to be, ‘Thank you for saving my life. I am grateful to have such a strong, beating heart and honored to carry on your legacy. God knew that we would work better as a team and I won’t let you down. This is the first day of my new life and our new journey together. Who knew that two strangers would one day share a heart, an organ, a life? You are a hero. Thank you for the gift of life and for the gift of hope.” Since the transplant, Traylor holds fast to a commitment to health and fitness and support for organ donor awareness. She runs track, swims, does CrossFit and rounds baseball bases with her son. “I’ve done 5Ks and more. I have walked the mountains of Utah,” she said. “ I am here to see my son start high school. I spend every single day thankful that I am alive and honoring my hero’s legacy with a healthy body.”